New Harvest Reporting System Awaits Shotgun Deer Seasons

DES MOINES - An estimated 190,000 hunters will be pursuing Iowa whitetails during December's two shotgun deer hunting seasons, and those who harvest a deer must now report that harvest to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.

Successful deer hunters must report the harvest by midnight of the day after it is killed, before taking it to a locker, before processing it for consumption or before leaving the state.

How to Report a Harvest

Step one is to write the date of the kill on the tag, then tag the deer.

Step two is to enter the nine-digit harvest registration number either by going to www.iowadnr.com and clicking on the harvest reporting button on the right side of the website, or by calling the phone system at 1-800-771-4692, which is printed on the tag.

The nine-digit harvest registration number is located on the lower half of the tag, on the left side. It is always a nine-digit number, displayed as three groups of three numbers. To report, deer hunters will need to provide this harvest registration number and the Iowa county where the animal was harvested, as well as the sex of the animal. Only report the harvest registration number from the tag on the deer.

Finally, hunters will receive a confirmation number that must be written on the transportation tag for the report to be considered complete. There is a box provided for the confirmation number on the tag, just below the license registration number. All the instructions are on the deer tags.

If no animal is harvested, no report is necessary.

For more information, contact Mick Klemesrud at 515-281-8653.